Gun Rack

Part of properly outfitting the rectory is getting my cowboy corner sent up. I've made a few strides, but I had yet to find the right place for my rifle. Until now. 

 I got this idea from my uncle's gun rack, which used to hang in our basement. Repurposing at its finest. 

Old horse shoes have a place. Done right, they can look cool. Done wrong, they can look tacky. Let's see where we land. 

First step is to knock the backs of the nails off with a grinder. 

Then take a punch and drive the rest of them out. 

This is a good time to take a wire brush and clean as much rust and dirt off as you can. A wire wheel on a grinder works good too. 

I just picked the top of the first nail hole as a good height, and welded the second shoe on. 

Once cleaned up and primered, I shot them with black. Flat black works the best. Keeps the rustic look, but also doesn't highlight the pitted old shoes like gloss would. 

Next, I wrapped them with some old leather. 

Pretty simple, I just tucked the ends down in the last wrap. Leather is pretty forgiving, it likes to stay put. 

Once I found the right hight on the wall, I just used horse shoe nails and set them in place. 

Giddy up. 

This is a happy home for my .454 Casull. Looks good above the mantel of the ole electric fireplace. The cowboy corner is coming along. You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy!